QUEUE TRAIN: Commuters line up for Manhattan-bound J and M trains at the Marcy Avenue station in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, yesterday. Photo: Stefan Jeremiah

Straphangers might get a bit of breathing room in subways today courtesy of the school holiday, but the long waits for trains will likely remain because of serious damage to the system’s signals during the storm.

The absence of millions of schoolkids, who have today off for Election Day, should ease the sardine-can conditions that led to screaming matches and cursing during previous days’ commutes.

“It was rough, very bad,” said Jon Norville, 52, who rode the J train during the morning rush.

Trains are operating at near-capacity due to a surplus of displaced L and G train riders.

The L is not operating between Broadway Junction and 14th Street-Eighth Avenue in Manhattan.

The G and Z trains are completely suspended, and service will be extended on the A, C and B lines.

In addition to crowding, many commuters endured 10- to 15-minute waits during rush hour in large part because of damage to the MTA’s signal system.

Normal wait times are two to three minutes.

Trains that terminated in different stations than they normally do — like the 1, N and L — also saw longer waits.

The ad hoc terminating spots in many cases weren’t designed to be end points, making it difficult for the cars to turn around.

Waits were especially long on the 1 train, which is ending at Chambers Street instead of the South Ferry station.

At one point, the NYPD had to evacuate the 1-train platform in the 14th Street station because of overcrowding, officials said.

Penn Station got so crowded during the evening rush the MTA issued an alert urging passengers not to leave work until after 6:30.

The MTA today is adding a special LIRR train to run along Long Island’s south shore both ways between Freeport and Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn.

The LIRR is also extending Ronkonkoma Branch trains to Riverhead and running shuttle buses to the route’s easternmost stops.

But officials warned most trains would likely experience 10- to 15-minute delays, due to overcrowding and reduced train capacity in Amtrak’s East River tunnels.

The PATH will also begin operating limited service for free today for the first time since Sandy flooded the Hudson River tunnels that carry the trains.

The trains will run both ways between Journal Square and 33rd Street from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., bypassing the Christopher and Ninth street stops in Manhattan.

The Newark and Hoboken lines, which run to the World Trade Center, are still suspended.

High-occupancy vehicle restrictions — which required three or more people in cars on most major crossings into Manhattan — were lifted yesterday.

Mayor Bloomberg had said he’d reinstitute the rule if gridlock returned, but yesterday’s traffic did not reach those levels.

Alternate side-parking is suspended today for Election Day.

The Queens-Midtown Tunnel, which has been closed since the storm, is opening one lane today for buses only.

NJ Transit’s North East Corridor trains were operating in a limited capacity to Penn Station.

The US Department of Transportation is sending 350 buses to New Jersey to supplement NJ Transit while it repairs infrastructure damaged in the storm.

The first 70 buses were expected to arrive yesterday.

NJ Transit closed its North Jersey Coast line yesterday due to overcrowding.